Weather helps firefighters on Vegas-area fire

LAS VEGAS - Wet and cloudy weather is helping firefighters battling a mountain blaze that has charred almost 44 square miles near Las Vegas.

Containment on the Carpenter 1 wildfire increased to 43 percent.

But U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Suzanne Shelp said Friday that the danger's still too great to let residents return to about 400 homes and other buildings in the Kyle Canyon area of Mount Charleston.

Firefighters are battling to stop the spread of the fire south into the scenic Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, just 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.

The 13-mile drive through the area was closed for a time on Thursday.

Shelp says no new injuries are reported among the 1,300 firefighters and support personnel battling the blaze.